Bob Sparks
In the 1970s inflation was soaring. It was so bad, interest rates climbed above 20 percent.
President Jimmy Carter, like his immediate predecessors Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, struggled for solutions. Carter didn’t bring back Ford’s WIN (Whip Inflation Now) campaign buttons, but he did hire economics professor Alfred E. Kahn to serve as, for lack of a better term, Inflation Czar.
Kahn was blunt in his assessment that failing to bring inflation under control could lead to a depression. He was, of course, taken to the woodshed for such doomsday commentary. Kahn was instructed not to use the stark term “depression.” Seniors and Baby Boomers might remember how Kahn went forward.
With his dictionary now abridged by one word and his Thesaurus woefully short on suggestions, he came up with some memorable nomenclature. Kahn now preached that failing to bring inflation under control could lead to a … banana.
If the Inflation Czar’s sole purpose was to bring awareness to the dire consequences of unchecked inflation, he succeeded in spectacular fashion. While the economy did not slip into a deep banana, it took until the early 1980s during the Reagan administration to finally corral inflation.
Forty years later, prices are rising much slower, while rising sea levels are of greater concern, according to scientists. Whether one believes climate change is a myth, or is part of a natural cycle, or is the result of human activity, more people are engaging in the conversation. This is especially true in the peninsula state called Florida.
According to critics, the administration of Gov. Rick Scott is trying to prevent discussion of the issue. The governor and his administration stand accused throughout the land of removing the words “climate change” and “global warming” from the lexicon.
It is difficult to imagine convening senior staff for the purpose of instructing them to prohibit the use of those words. Logic would lead reasonable people to conclude the governor of Florida has more important things on his docket than requiring certain words be stricken from a program administrator’s correspondence or reports.
In the movie The Ten Commandments, Pharaoh learns that Moses (Charlton Heston) is not only a Hebrew, but a Hebrew who believes the slaves should be released. Pharaoh orders the name of Moses be stricken from records and books throughout the land. He had the clout to make it happen.
“So let it be written! So let it be done!” proclaims Pharaoh-in-waiting Ramses, played by legendary Hollywood bald guy, Yul Brynner. A layup of an opportunity awaits a cynical political cartoonist highlighting visual and policy comparisons between Brynner and Scott.
The governor says he did not ban the offending words. But some have gone on record saying they were “discouraged” from using the terms by either their supervisors or other representatives of the administration.
While it is likely no direct ban was issued, it is also likely someone, or some group loyal to the governor, thought limiting speech through “suggestions” would be a good idea. If the intent was to limit discussion of the issue, the result has been the opposite (see Carter, Jimmy and Kahn, Alfred).
Republicans continue to feel unnecessary pain on this issue because far too often the pain is self-inflicted. This hit did not have to happen.
Last year saw another misfire when Scott joined with other national Republicans to use the talking point “I am not a scientist.” That attempted detour around the issue continues to be fodder for stories to this day.
If the governor believes climate change is occurring as part of a normal cycle, he should say so and offer a couple of reasons why. If he has questions for those who believe climate change is the result of people, he should ask them.
Leaving the perception he is running from, or attempting to muzzle, an issue should be a non-starter for the leader of the third-largest state in the nation. What is wrong with taking a principled position and defending it? One can agree or disagree with Jeb Bush, but everyone knows where he stands and he is not afraid to engage skeptics.
The issue of climate change is not going away any time soon. A choice to ignore or even replace the offending words with something like “bananas” serves no one’s best interests, especially the governor’s.
The administration must change course by ending whatever ban or “suggestions” exist concerning climate change and engage in this issue along with the many others.
So let it be written. So let it be done.
Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
